1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydrophone array and a system and method for deploying the array, particularly hydrophone arrays for underwater acoustic sensing of subsurface marine vehicles.
2. Background of the Invention
Hydrophone arrays are used militarily to detect the presence of submarines and to provide information about their movements. Because modern submarines have the ability with cruise missiles to attack surface ships at great distances, the protection of surface shipping requires the ability to detect and track submerged submarines over vast areas of ocean. Hydrophone arrays have typically been used for this purpose.
Hydrophones are acoustic transducers which operate by detecting acoustic signals and converting them to electrical impulses which can then be transmitted by radio waves to a distant receiver. Typically, an array of hydrophones is loaded into a sonobuoy which can then be dropped by airplane into the ocean. The array is then deployed while a float containing a transmitter remains at the surface of the water.
What is yet needed is a collapsible hydrophone array support system which maintains the array in a predetermined configuration when deployed with reduced chance of twisting the wires, and which can be fit into a sonobuoy.